


Anything You Can Do

by thesometimeswarrior



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mentor/Protégé
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-10 14:44:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5590219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesometimeswarrior/pseuds/thesometimeswarrior
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"'Bumi.' There’s no demand here, just a request—Bumi knows the difference well. Slowly, he raises his head to look at Iroh, and is shocked to find a seriousness in his face but no pity there.  'I want to teach you,' the man says."</p><p>Three times Iroh helps Bumi see just how worthy he is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

He huffs, unsure if he’s being mocked, when Iroh makes the request: “Bumi, would you please heat the teapot?”

He crosses his arms, releases a sigh so that the old man knows he’s annoyed—so annoyed because he’s ten years old now and doesn’t need a babysitter, and he certainly doesn’t need one who makes requests that he knows cannot be fulfilled. Of course, Iroh knows he doesn’t have _it_. Any of _it_. Everyone knows. So why would he even ask?

He grumbles under his breath.

“Forgive me, Bumi, but I cannot quite understand you.”

“I said,” says Bumi, growing even more annoyed with every passing breath, “I can’t! You know that!”

“Why not?”

Spirits, is he really going to make him say it? “Because I’m not…I don’t have any…any…” 

No. He isn’t going to cry. Not in front of this stupid old man who’s not only making him brew stupid tea in the stupid Earth Kingdom, but who’s rubbing his shame in his face. Why did his parents have to bring him anyway? They always have meetings; why couldn’t he have just stayed with Kya and Tenzin with the acolytes. They at least would have let him do what he wanted. They might dote on Tenzin, and some of them even on Kya, but they don’t care much about him or what he does.

“You don’t need to be a bender to make an excellent pot of tea,” says the old man, passing Bumi a set of spark rocks. 

Bumi fingers the unfamiliar objects for a second. “Why would I use these, when you could just firebend under the pot?”

“Because I asked you to. Everyone should know how to make a proper pot of tea. Have you ever made one before?”

He doesn’t answer right away, because, he thinks, he’s embarrassed. After a long moment, he shakes his head. “Dad does it, ‘cuz he can Firebend, or Mom does it cuz she can Waterbend. Or the acolytes do it because...well it’s something to do with meditation and calming the mind. No one’s bothered to teach me. I mean, Mom’s even teaching Kya and she’s only six!”

Bumi looks away. He’s said too much. He doesn’t dare meet the old man’s eyes; he can’t stomach the pity he’d find there.

“Bumi.” There’s no demand here, just a request—Bumi knows the difference well. Slowly, he raises his head to look at Iroh, and is shocked to find a seriousness in his face but no pity there. “ _I_ want to teach you,” the man says. 

Iroh holds the boy’s gaze for a moment, silently, allowing the full extent of what he’s saying to sink in. Only after this does he continue, lightening the mood: “After all, they do say that I make the best tea in Ba Sing Se!”

The boy hesitates for another moment, but then relents. His hands shake as he grips the spark rocks, so Iroh gently reaches for them to help him steady them. When the boy lights the flame under the teapot, his eyes likewise light up, and Iroh smiles as subtly as he can. 

For the next several minutes, Iroh explains how much leaf to put in the pot, how hot to make it, how long to let it steep, as Bumi, with growing eagerness follows the old man’s directions. After he’s poured tea for them both and sipped it, Bumi finally thinks he understands what the acolytes have been saying: tea really does calm the mind.


	2. Chapter 2

“Here you go, Master Iroh!” says Bumi, smiling as he hands the older man a porcelain cup of tea.

“Thank you, Bumi,” Iroh responds, sipping it. “It is delicious! To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

“What, can’t I just come to visit a friend and make him a cup of tea?”

“You can, of course. But I suspect there might be something else.”

“Well, there is something.” 

He doesn’t continue right away, so Iroh waits, silently, patiently.

“It’s just…I’m a year older now than Dad was when he defeated the Fire Lord, and I don’t even know how to fight. Kya and Tenzin are both being trained, even though they’re both younger, and I, you know, even though I’m not a bender I want to be able to fight too. Not because I want to fight just to fight! I just...I…”

“You want to be able to defend the world, like your parents did and continue to do.”

Bumi sighs, looks away. “Yeah. And I just thought…I mean, I know you’re this great Firebender, but I just wondered...Uncle Sokka’s so busy and doesn’t seem to care too much, and you know, you…”

“I would be glad to help, Bumi.”

A few moments later, the two find themselves in the back garden of the Jasmine Dragon dressed for sparring. 

“First, you need a strong stance,” says Iroh. “Legs spread apart, knees bent, arms up. Good,” he continues, as Bumi complies, and the old general makes a few adjustments. “Now,” he continues. “Perhaps the most important skill in combat is a solid defense. I will try to knock you over, and you try to resist. Alright?”

Bumi nods, the determination already etched into his face. Seconds later, he’s face up on the ground. Iroh extends his hand to help him up. The boy takes it, grits his teeth.

After this sequence is repeated for the fifth time, Bumi groans.

“Do not be discouraged, Bumi!”

“Why shouldn’t I be? I can’t do anything!”

“That is not—”

“It’s true alright! My sister is nine years old and already an apprentice healer and accomplished Waterbender, my brother, the boy wonder and my father’s pride and joy, is seven and well on his way to becoming an Airbending master, and I, my parents’ failed legacy, can’t even stay standing when I’m gently pushed!”

“You are just as worthy as your siblings, Bumi. Don’t ever think that you are not.”

Bumi looks up, scanning Iroh’s face for mocking or condescension. He finds neither, but continues to gaze at the old man’s face in disbelief.

Iroh continues: “And furthermore, you will master this. It merely takes time.”

When the boy doesn’t respond, Iroh questions: “Would you like to take a break? I could make some more tea.”

“No,” says Bumi. “Let’s keep going.”

When Iroh strikes him again, he tries to retaliate by grabbing the other man’s arm. Iroh counters, and Bumi, loosing balance, falls again, this time on his face.

“Are you alright?” Iroh again extends him a hand.

This time, Bumi doesn’t take it and pushes himself up, realizing to his great annoyance that he’s chipped his tooth. “No! I’m not!,” he replies, storming to the kitchen window, snatching a knife from the counter and hurling it across the garden.

Iroh blinks. “Bumi…”

“What.”

“Were you aiming for that?”

“What?” Bumi turns to see the knife he’s thrown protruding from the dead center of an Earth Kingdom wall hanging, right in the minute square in the middle of the circle. “I…yeah, I guess I sorta was!”

The two stare at each other for a moment, until Iroh rushes into the kitchen to grab a full set of knives. 

By the end of the day, Bumi’s arm is sore from throwing, but despite his chipped tooth and bruises, he smiles.


	3. Chapter 3

He wanders to the crest of the hill, until he finds a shady, comfortable patch under a large tree. Turning to see a spectacular view of Ba Sing Se, Bumi sits, content. He opens his satchel, removes two incense candles, his prized set of spark rocks, a treasured portrait, which he props against the trunk of the tree, and his tea set. He inhales deeply. Calming, he thinks. 

Bumi places the candles in front of the portrait and lights them with the ignited spark rocks. With the same light, he lights a flame under his teapot and proceeds to brew and pour two cups of tea. One, he places before the portrait, while the other he delicately sips himself.

“It’s your favorite,” he says to the portrait. “That Ginseng blend, the first one you taught me to make.” Bumi takes another sip. “I think it’s my favorite too.”

He places the cup on the ground in front of him. “I know you have this beautiful shrine in the Fire Nation where you were cremated. But when I think of you, I always think of you here. At the Jasmine Dragon, mainly. And wherever your remains are, this is where I feel closest to you.”

The young man pauses, contemplatively. “I can’t believe it’s been over a year already. I miss you. We all do.”

He sighs, finishes his tea, and pours himself another cup. “But, anyway. I enlisted in the United Forces Navy. I leave for Boot Camp tomorrow, and it didn’t feel right without telling you.

“Actually this is my uniform here. It feels weird, stiffer than any of the stuff I’ve worn before. It’s grey, for a non-bender.” Bumi pauses, gazes at the portrait. “You know, once that really would have bothered me. When I started coming here as a kid. But I figure I can throw circles around any of those benders and probably around most of the non-benders! And,” he smiles. “I’m not too shabby at hand-to-hand combat!” 

Bumi’s smile falters for a moment. “I’m scared, Master Iroh. But you know what? I’m also happy for the first time that I can remember. Maybe that’s why I’m scared. Because I’m eighteen now, and I’m serious about wanting to keep the world safe. And, after all these years, I’ve finally realized something—I think what you’ve been trying to help me realize all along—and that’s that if my parents won’t train me or show me how I’m meant to keep the world safe, if my dad won’t, then I’ll just have to figure it out myself. And I’m gonna. I’ve already started, thanks to you.

“I’m gonna make you proud, Master Iroh." He smiles, wipes the tears out of his eyes. "Just you watch. I'm gonna make you proud."

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
